Mumbai Crime: Youth arrested for stalking, molesting 13-year-old

Sep 17, 2014, 07:07 IST
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Saurabh Vaktania

According to the police, the accused would lie in wait for the survivor to pass by on her way to school, and would then harass and threaten her

A 25-year-old man was arrested by the Andheri police for allegedly stalking and molesting a minor repeatedly. According to the police, the accused, Brijeshkumar Yadav had been stalking the survivor for the past few weeks, and finally attacked and threatened her last week.

Yadav, an Andheri East resident, would allegedly lie in wait for her to pass by during her 15-minute walk to school, and follow and taunt her with lewd comments. According to the statements registered with the police, last week, he touched her hand and then pushed her and threatened to hurt her if she told anyone about the incident. Too scared to leave the house and go to school, the Std V student stayed home with a fever for two days.

However, when she left home on the third day, Yadav began to stalk her yet again. The survivor’s younger brother noticed this and immediately informed his parents and the local residents gathered there. A mob descended on Yadav and roughed him up, before taking him to the local police station. Another group escorted the victim to her school as well.

The accused has been charged with molestation under the Indian Penal Code, as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. He was produced in Sessions court and remanded to police custody till September 19. Meanwhile, the survivor was sent for a medical test on Tuesday, as per the court’s orders.

“The incident has badly affected the minor girl and she is in a complete state of shock. She is still very afraid of going out alone,” said a local resident who lives in the same locality as the accused and the victim, adding that her parents should have noticed the change in her behaviour and suspected something was wrong.